John 17 Jesus Prays

 

John 17 – Jesus Prays

 

In this, his high priestly prayer, Jesus prayed for Himself, His disciples, and His church.

 

The prayer reveals our Lord’s spiritual priorities: glorifying the Father, the unity of the church, the sanctity of the church, and the winning of a lost world.

 

It also reveals the gifts he has given His people: eternal life, the word, and His glory. But note that believers are the Father’s gift to Him, just as Jesus is the Father’s love gift to us. It is all of grace!

 

Everyone will live eternally somewhere, but for those who believe, the eternal life Jesus spoke of means living forever in God’s presence.

 

The way a person regards the Bible is the way they regard Christ, the Living Word.

 

The word world appears 19 times in this prayer, for this prayer tells us how to “overcome the world”. We must seek God’s glory first, experience His joy, be sanctified by the Word, seek to win the lost, and encourage the unity of God’s people. As long as believers are in this world but living for the Lord, they will be protected from the evil one and indelibly marked as His by the truth. God promises to one day take His children home with Him, but until then, Jesus prays for their spiritual well-being and pleads for their safekeeping.

 

Glory is another key word. Christ laid aside His glory to come to earth, glorified God on earth, and was glorified when He returned to heaven. Christ is glorified in His church and has shared His glory with the church. We already have the glory; we are just waiting for it to be fully revealed. (Rom. 8:18-21,30).

 

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Nelson’s Quick Reference Commentary.

Dr. David Jeremiah Study Bible and J. Vernon McGee Through the Bible